If there's something you'd like to say to aliens, now's your chance. The Wow! signal, a mysterious radio transmission detected in 1977 that may or may not have come from extraterrestrials, is finally getting a response from humanity. Anyone can contribute his or her two cents — or 140 characters, to be exact — to the cosmic reply via Twitter.

All tweets composed between 8 p.m. EDT Friday (June 29) and 3 a.m. EDT Saturday (June 30) tagged with the hashtag #ChasingUFOs will be rolled into a single message, according to the National Geographic Channel, which is timing the Twitter event to coincide with the premiere of the channel's new series, "Chasing UFOs."

Then on Aug. 15, exactly 35 years after the Wow! signal was detected, humanity's crowdsourced message will be beamed into space in the direction from which the perplexing signal originated.

Wow SignalA scan of a color copy of the original computer printout bearing the Wow! signal, taken several years after the signal's 1977 arrival.CREDIT: The Ohio State University Radio Observatory and the North American AstroPhysical Observatory (NAAPO)View full size image

If there's something you'd like to say to aliens, now's your chance. The Wow! signal, a mysterious radio transmission detected in 1977 that may or may not have come from extraterrestrials, is finally getting a response from humanity. Anyone can contribute his or her two cents — or 140 characters, to be exact — to the cosmic reply via Twitter.

All tweets composed between 8 p.m. EDT Friday (June 29) and 3 a.m. EDT Saturday (June 30) tagged with the hashtag #ChasingUFOs will be rolled into a single message, according to the National Geographic Channel, which is timing the Twitter event to coincide with the premiere of the channel's new series, "Chasing UFOs."

Then on Aug. 15, exactly 35 years after the Wow! signal was detected, humanity's crowdsourced message will be beamed into space in the direction from which the perplexing signal originated.

"We are working with Arecibo Observatory to develop the best way to encrypt the transmission," said Kristin Montalbano, a spokeswoman for the National Geographic Channel. "Earlier transmissions have focused on simplicity, whereas this one will rely more on creating a complex but noticeable pattern, hopefully standing out from other random, natural noise.

"More than likely we will be using binary phase codes," or sequences of 1s and 0s.

The Wow! signal is the only blip of incoming data to have stood out from the noise in the four decades that astronomers have been scouring the heavens for signs of life — an effort known as the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, or SETI. The Big Ear radio observatory at Ohio State University picked up the intense 72-second radio transmission coming from the direction of the constellation Sagittarius. At its peak, the transmission was 30 times more powerful than ambient radiation from deep space, prompting the volunteer astronomer Jerry Ehman to scrawl "Wow!" next to the data on a computer printout, giving the signal its name.

No one knows whether the seemingly unnatural signal really was beamed toward us by aliens, and despite great effort, scientists have never managed to detect a repeat transmission from the same spot in the sky. Thirty-five years on, the Wow! signal remains a complete mystery.[7 Huge Misconceptions about Aliens]

It is hoped alien scientists — if they do, in fact, exist — will have better luck decoding humankind's reply.

"After recognizing the pattern, the scientists on the other end would theoretically be challenged to find a way to decrypt the transmission and understand our language. No small feat, but surely finding a signal of intelligent origin from another planet would be a momentous and impactful find for them — assuming they don't already know about us from past visits! Or already follow us on Twitter," Montalbano told Life's Little Mysteries.

And if they're the aliens that sent the Wow! signal in the first place, they are likely to be an extremely advanced civilization. Scientists say the signal would have required a 2.2 gigawatt transmitter, vastly more powerful than any existing terrestrial radio station.

Just great! Every moron on the planet gets to send ET his words of idiotic wisdom.

Another Great Idea brought to you by Ohio State University.

ET will see it and decide that we are an inferior life form to even the most minute life form on their planet and decide to eradicate us before we spread like a pandemic disease.

June 25th, 2012, 5:35 pm

49ers

Varsity Captain

Joined: October 12th, 2011, 9:00 amPosts: 289Location: Vermont

Re: Possible Alien Message to Get Reply from Humanity.

Looks like publicity for a TV show to me. Without it, would they even do this?

Anyway, I'm on Stephen Hawking's side. He advised against contacting ET life, and I agree. We don't need a stronger society coming down and taking over. And if they get that transmission we send, and it's riddled full of twitter posts about Jersey Shore and Desperate Housewives, we're screwed.

_________________

Pablo wrote:

the app worked OK, but it is hard to draft while driving.

June 25th, 2012, 6:05 pm

Murtyle

Mr. Irrelevant

Joined: April 16th, 2005, 3:23 pmPosts: 941Location: Hollywood, FL

Re: Possible Alien Message to Get Reply from Humanity.

I don't know... It might scare them off... I know I don't want anything to do with them....

June 25th, 2012, 7:45 pm

WarEr4Christ

QB Coach

Joined: October 26th, 2005, 11:48 pmPosts: 3039Location: Elkhart, In.

Re: Possible Alien Message to Get Reply from Humanity.

Sounds like the movie Battleship, complete with Hawkings warning about reaching out to the unknown

_________________2 Chronicles 10:14, "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

June 25th, 2012, 8:14 pm

I.E.

Walk On

Joined: September 11th, 2010, 10:19 pmPosts: 408

Re: Possible Alien Message to Get Reply from Humanity.

JE5UQE 667

I'd tell them to get serious & spell Jesus correctly. And it is 666 - not 667. Sheesh... fargin dumb-butt aliens.

June 26th, 2012, 8:38 pm

I.E.

Walk On

Joined: September 11th, 2010, 10:19 pmPosts: 408

Re: Possible Alien Message to Get Reply from Humanity.

49ers wrote:

Looks like publicity for a TV show to me. Without it, would they even do this?

Anyway, I'm on Stephen Hawking's side. He advised against contacting ET life, and I agree. We don't need a stronger society coming down and taking over. And if they get that transmission we send, and it's riddled full of twitter posts about Jersey Shore and Desperate Housewives, we're screwed.

I'm not so sure about that... it would be someone to sell our debt to. And maybe they'd bring some industry to Detroit.

June 26th, 2012, 8:39 pm

WarEr4Christ

QB Coach

Joined: October 26th, 2005, 11:48 pmPosts: 3039Location: Elkhart, In.

Re: Possible Alien Message to Get Reply from Humanity.

Or some peace and integrity to the city of Chicago...

_________________2 Chronicles 10:14, "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."